System and method for facilitating accelerated network selection in a radio network environment

ABSTRACT

A method for facilitating accelerated network selection on a wireless user equipment (UE) device includes storing information regarding power-off time and power-off location as the UE device is about to enter a power-off condition. Upon power-up, the method further includes computing an estimated distance that the UE device has traveled while in the power-off condition using the stored information and a current time, defining a boundary that lies the estimated distance from a location indicated by the power-off location, for a plurality of regions lying within the boundary, logically sequencing acquisition records that are associated with the regions in a system acquisition database structure based on the regions nearness to the boundary, and locating a network via scanning using scanning data obtained from the logically sequenced acquisition records.

PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119(e) & 37 C.F.R. §1.78

This non-provisional patent application is a continuation of applicationSer. No. 11/712,536, filed Feb. 28, 2007 and further claims prioritybased upon the following prior U.S. provisional patent application(s):(i) “METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR EFFECTUATING ACCELERATED NETWORK SELECTIONIN A RADIO NETWORK ENVIRONMENT,” Application No. 60/802,008, filed May19, 2006, in the name(s) of Adrian Buckley and William Daniel Willey.All priority applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application discloses subject matter related to the subject matterdisclosed in the following commonly owned co-pending U.S. patentapplication(s): (i) “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACCELERATING NETWORKSELECTION BY A WIRELESS USER EQUIPMENT (UE) DEVICE,” filed Jul. 1, 2005;application Ser. No. 11/173,083, in the name(s) of: Adrian Buckley,Andrew Allen and G. Scott Henderson, now published as U.S. PatentPublication No. 2007/0004405 and (ii) “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORACCELERATING NETWORK SELECTION BY A WIRELESS USER EQUIPMENT (UE) DEVICEUSING SATELLITE-BASED POSITIONING SYSTEM,” filed Jul. 1, 2005;application Ser. No. 11/173,040, in the name(s) of: Adrian Buckley andG. Scott Henderson, now published as U.S. Patent Publication No.2007/0004404.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present patent disclosure generally relates to communicationnetworks. More particularly, and not by way of any limitation, thepresent patent application is directed to a system and method forfacilitating accelerated network selection by a wireless user equipment(UE) device.

BACKGROUND

When a wireless user equipment (UE) device is first powered up or whenit tries to recover from loss of coverage, it is typically required tosearch for its last registered Public Land Mobile Network (RPLMN) inevery supported radio access technology and frequency bands associatedtherewith before attempting to register on another PLMN. The issue foroperators is that when a UE device powers up after a power off conditionand subsequent relocation to a new location, it may have to perform afull band scan (FBS) of all supported bands before possibly selecting aNational Roaming Partner (NRP). Today, such a full scan already takes afairly long time in a dense or complex radio environment, which will befurther exacerbated when additional frequency bands are introduced andmore access technologies are integrated.

In addition, it is important to note that in most scenarios a full bandscan can give rise to inefficient utilization of radio and/or batteryresources. Relatedly, the time to perform a full scan may be so longthat the radio environment may have changed significantly between thetime when the scan was started and the time the UE device decides toselect a new PLMN. As a result, by the time the UE decides to select anew network, another high priority network may have appeared again.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the embodiments of the present patentdisclosure may be had by reference to the following Detailed Descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a generalized radio network environment wherein anembodiment of the present patent disclosure may be practiced when awireless UE device (e.g., including but not limited to a mobile station(MS) or an access terminal (AT)) is relocated to a new geographic areahaving the radio network environment;

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict exemplary embodiments of a database structure forstoring system and acquisition tables for facilitating acceleratednetwork selection in accordance with the teachings of the present patentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary methodology for saving varioussystem, location and timing data when a wireless UE device is poweredoff;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of an overall schemefor facilitating accelerated network selection when a wireless UE deviceis powered up;

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an embodiment for manipulating the systemacquisition database structure(s) associated with a wireless UE device;

FIG. 5B is a flowchart of another embodiment for manipulating the systemacquisition database structure(s) associated with a wireless UE device;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary geographic region layout illustrative of theteachings of FIG. 5B; and

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of a wireless UE deviceoperable to accelerate network selection according to the teachings ofthe present patent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In one embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a method forfacilitating accelerated network selection by a wireless UE device,comprising: manipulating a searching sequence order relating to a systemacquisition database structure that is associated with the wireless UEdevice based at least in part upon how long the wireless UE device wasin power off condition, the system acquisition database havingacquisition records for storing scanning data operable with the wirelessUE device for discovering a network; and locating a network via scanningby the wireless UE device using scanning data obtained from the systemacquisition database structure responsive to the manipulation.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a wirelessUE device, comprising: means for manipulating a searching sequence orderrelating to a system acquisition database structure that is associatedwith the wireless UE device, based at least in part upon how long thewireless UE device was in power off condition, the system acquisitiondatabase structure having acquisition records for storing scanning dataoperable with the wireless UE device for discovering a network; andmeans for locating a network via scanning by the wireless UE deviceusing scanning data obtained from the system acquisition databasestructure responsive to the manipulation.

In a still further embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to astorage module (SM) operable to be coupled to or integrated with awireless UE device. The storage module may be provisioned with a firstdatabase portion populated with a plurality of network systemidentifiers wherein each network system identifier is associated with acorresponding system acquisition index, the network system identifiersbeing organized on based on one or more geographic regions; and a seconddatabase portion populated with system acquisition parametric dataincluding frequency information for each system acquisition index,wherein a search sequence order associated with the acquisition recordsin the second database portion is operable to be manipulated based onthe wireless UE device's expected relocation upon powering down.

An apparatus and method of the present patent disclosure will now bedescribed with reference to various examples of how the embodiments canbest be made and used. Like reference numerals are used throughout thedescription and several views of the drawings to indicate like orcorresponding parts, wherein the various elements are not necessarilydrawn to scale. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly toFIG. 1, depicted therein is an exemplary generalized radio networkenvironment 100 wherein one or more embodiments of the present patentdisclosure may be practiced when a wireless user equipment (UE) devicerelocates to a new geographic area having the exemplary radioenvironment. For purposes of the teachings herein, a generalizedwireless UE device 102 is deemed to be a mobile equipment (ME) devicehaving a removable storage module, and may comprise any portablecomputer (e.g., laptops, palmtops, or handheld computing devices) or amobile communications device (e.g., cellular phones or data-enabledhandheld devices capable of receiving and sending messages, webbrowsing, et cetera), or any enhanced personal digital assistant (PDA)device or integrated information appliance capable of email, video mail,Internet access, corporate data access, messaging, calendaring andscheduling, information management, and the like, that is preferablyoperable in one or more modes of operation and in a number of frequencybands and/or radio access technologies (RATs). For example, UE device102 may operate in the cellular telephony band frequencies such as 450MHz, 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2.4 GHz, etc., as well asWireless Local Area Network (WLAN) bands. Further, other bands in whichthe UE device could operate wirelessly may comprise Wi-Max bands or oneor more satellite bands. Accordingly, for purposes of the present patentdisclosure, those skilled in the art should recognize that the term “UEdevice” or “wireless device” may comprise a ME device (with or withoutany removable storage module such as a Universal Subscriber IdentityModule (USIM) card, Removable User Identity Module (RUIM) card, aSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, or a compact Flash card, SecureDigital (SD) card, etc.) as well as other portable wireless informationappliances, also with or without such storage modules.

By way of illustration, the radio network environment 100 is envisionedhaving as one or more categories of communication spaces capable ofproviding service to UE device 102 wherein system acquisition dataprovisioned with the device may be manipulated in accordance with theteachings set forth herein for purposes of facilitating acceleratednetwork selection. In a wide area cellular network (WACN) space 104,there may exist any number of Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) thatare operable to provide cellular telephony services which may or may notinclude packet-switched data services. Depending on the coverage area(s)and whether the user is roaming, WACN space 104 can include a number ofhome networks 110 (i.e., home PLMNs or HPLMNs, or equivalent HPLMNs orEHPLMNs), visited networks (i.e., VPLMNs) 112, each with appropriateinfrastructure such as Home Location Register (HLR) or Home SubscriberServer (HSS) nodes 115, Mobile Switching Center (MSC) nodes 116, and thelike. Since the WACN space 104 may also include a General Packet RadioService (GPRS) network that provides a packet radio access for mobiledevices using the cellular infrastructure of a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM)-based carrier network, a Serving GPRS Support Node(SGSN) 114 is exemplified therein. Additionally, by way ofgeneralization, the PLMNs of the WACN space 104 may comprise radioaccess and core networks selected from the group comprising EnhancedData Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) networks, Integrated DigitalEnhanced Networks (IDENs), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks, or any 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP)-compliant network (e.g., 3GPP or 3GPP2),e.g., Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) networks, all operating with wellknown technologies, frequency bandwidths and protocols.

Further, UE device 102 is operable to obtain service from an accessnetwork (AN) space 106 that is connected to the WACN space 104. In oneimplementation, the AN space 106 includes one or more generic accessnetworks (GANs) 118 as well as any type of wireless LAN (WLAN)arrangements 120, both of which may be generalized as any wireless ANthat is operable to provide access services between UE device 102 and aPLMN core network using a broadband Internet Protocol (IP)-basednetwork. WLAN arrangements 120 provide short-range wireless connectivityto UE device 102 via access points (APs) or “hot spots,” and can beimplemented using a variety of standards, e.g., IEEE 802.11b, IEEE802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, HiperLan and HiperLan II standards,Wi-Max standard (IEEE 802.16 and IEEE 802.16e), OpenAir standard, andthe Bluetooth standard (IEEE 802.15), and the like.

Additionally, there may exist an access network (AN) space 108 notinterfaced to the WACN space 104 that offers short-range wirelessconnectivity to UE device 102. For instance, AN space 108 may compriseWLANs 122 offering non-3GPP services, such as communications over“public” access points (hotels, coffee shops, bookstores, apartmentbuildings, educational institutions, etc., whether free or for fee),enterprise access points, and visited (other enterprise) access pointswhere the user may not be a member of that enterprise but is allowed atleast some services.

Based on the foregoing, it should be recognized that the serviceinfrastructure of the radio network environment 100 may be generalizedinto three broad segments: one or more radio access networks (RANs)(which can include cellular band technologies as well as WLANtechnologies), one or more core networks (CNs), and one or more servicenetworks (SNs). Depending on network ownership arrangements andservice-level agreements, each RAN may support one or more CNs, each ofwhich in turn may support one or more SNs. Such combinations ofinfrastructure equipment across multiple owners are sometimes used tocreate Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). In some embodiments,the teachings of the present patent disclosure may equally be applicableto MVNOs as to PLMNs. Since each RAN, CN, or SN may be provided with itsown network or system identifier (ID code), numerous RAN-CN-SNcombinations may be available in the network environment 100. As will beseen below, regardless of how the exemplary radio network environment100 to which the user of UE device 102 may have relocated isconstituted, scanning/searching sequence order associated withappropriate system acquisition database(s) provisioned with UE device102 may be advantageously manipulated so as to facilitate acceleratednetwork selection, i.e., without having to perform a time-consuming FBSprocedure while attempting to locate a network for service in theexemplary network environment.

To formalize the teachings of the present disclosure, reference is nowtaken to FIGS. 2A and 2B wherein exemplary embodiments of databasestructures that are operable with respect to selecting a CDMA network bya wireless UE device are depicted. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that although the exemplary database structures are populatedwith system acquisition data operable with CDMA technology, theteachings herein are equally applicable to other wide area cellularnetworks and WLANs, with suitable and/or necessary modifications.Accordingly, the term “network” may encompass various cellular andwireless technologies (e.g., WLAN, WiMax, public safety networkimplementations, et cetera) at least in some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Further, the exemplary database structures of FIGS. 2A and2B may be implemented in any number ways, either integrated together ornot, such as, e.g., linked lists, pointer-based records, etc.

Reference numeral 200A of FIG. 2A refers to an embodiment of a systemtable database (i.e., a first database portion) that includes varioussystem/network identifiers, priority indicators, preferred/forbiddensystem identifiers, acquisition record index, roaming indicators, andthe like, in what may be termed as system records, each record having aplurality of record fields. The CDMA networks to be used by UE devicemay be identified by System Identifiers (SIDs) and Network Identifiers(NIDs), where a SID typically covers the area of a city or large townalthough there are no strict guidelines or requirements for the size ofSIDs. Accordingly, their definition may be determined by individualoperators and/or national regulatory bodies. A “NID” is an optionalsubdivision of a SID, where a NID can identify, e.g., different ratingareas, toll areas, private networks, MSC boundaries, or any othersubdivision that an operator may want to distinguish within a SID. Anational operator may have coverage over an entire country, where forcertain countries, this can amount to tens and sometimes hundreds ofcities/regions being covered. Consequently, a SID column 204 comprises aplurality of SID values that a UE can select from for obtaining service.A NID_INCL column 206 is populated with values, each corresponding tothe SID of a record to indicate whether a NID is included or not.Typically, a NID_INCL value of “00” indicates that NID is not included.On the other hand, if the NID_INCL field of a record is set to “01”, theNID of the network associated with the record is included. It will berealized by those skilled in the art that Mobile Country Code (MCC) andMobile Network Code (MNC) combinations may also be used in addition toSID/NID combinations in certain implementations, with appropriatemodifications.

A PREF_NEG column 208 is provided to indicate whether a UE device isallowed to operate on the system associated with a particular record.For instance, if the PREF_NEG field of a record is set to “1”, the UEdevice is allowed to operate on the system identified in the record. Ageographical region indicator or GEO field 210 is operable to indicatewhether a system record is the first record applicable within a regionthat is identified by a REGION column 202. If a particular record thefirst system record, this field is set to “0”. If the record is not thefirst system record, then this field may be set as follows. If thesystem associated with the record is in the same geographical region asthe system associated with the previous system record, the field is setto “1”. Otherwise, this field is set to “0”. A relative priorityindicator or PRI field 212 is operable to indicate relative priority ofa system within a particular geographical region, and may be dependenton how the PREF_NEG field of a record has been populated. An acquisitionrecord index or ACQ_INDEX column 214 is set to the index of anacquisition record in an acquisition table structure (shown in FIG. 2Band described below) that specifies the acquisition parameters of thesystem identified in a particular system record. Also associated withACQ_INDEX is a type description of the system, such as cellular CDMA,PCS CDMA, etc. for example. A roaming indicator or ROAM_IND field 216may be included in a system record based on whether its PREF_NEG fieldis set to “1”. If included, ROAM_IND field 216 may contain indicatorssuch as On, Off, Flashing, or N/A.

As set forth in the illustrative system table 200A, SIDs of variousnetwork systems may be grouped based on geographic regions identified incolumn 202. A usage flag column 218 is provided to indicate whether aparticular region has been considered or not in manipulating anassociated acquisition table structure and/or its scanning sequenceorder, e.g., sorted in a priority order of use, based on estimatedrelocation of a UE device upon powering off. As will be described inadditional detail below, the database/scanning order manipulationprocess may preferably be predicated upon determining which regions arelikely to be the candidates where the UE device may be located when itis powered up after a period of downtime.

Reference numeral 200B of FIG. 2B is illustrative of an exemplaryacquisition table structure (i.e., a second database portion) associatedwith a UE device that is operable to store acquisition records in orderof priority according to desired system selection scan order. Typically,highest priority record is placed first, the next highest priorityrecord is placed second, and so on. An ACQ_INDEX value obtained from anappropriate system record of the system table 200A may be used to indexinto the acquisition table 200B using an ACQ_INDEX column 252 thereoffor obtaining a particular acquisition record. An ACQ_TYPE field 254 isencoded suitably according to the description of the system identifiedin the system table 200A. As exemplified in the acquisition table 200B,a Description field 256 describes the system type. A Parametrics field258 of the acquisition record includes the scanning data (i.e., band,frequency, channels, etc.) to be used by the UE when attempting toacquire the system.

As one skilled in the art may appreciate, the foregoing databasestructures may be suitably modified to include a number of differentnetwork technologies such that applicable system records and acquisitionrecords may be provisioned with appropriate data. For example, WLANs maybe identified by means of Service Set IDs (SSIDs) and GSM networks maybe identified by means of MCC/MNC combinations. Further, differentnetworks in a particular technology, e.g., GSM, may support differentbands, e.g., selected from 450 MHz, 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz,and 1900 MHz. Likewise, CDMA technology (TIA-2000, TIA-856)) networksmay operate in 850 MHz and 1900 MHz, and other bands. In addition, theremay be more than one system and acquisition table provisioned for a UEdevice, which may be integrated into a single database. As to storage,the database structures may be embodied in a removable module such asSIM, RUIM, USIM, Flash memory, SD card, or a storage memory circuitintegrated within the UE device.

Based on the foregoing, an embodiment of the present disclosure forfacilitating accelerated network selection may be set forth as follows.When a wireless UE device powers on, it will determine the order inwhich to scan technologies and bands based on the amount of time thedevice has been powered off and the location it was powered off. Anestimate of the distance the user of the device could have traveled fromthe location where the UE device was powered off is related to, interalia, the amount of time it has been turned off and an estimated mode oftravel (e.g., air travel, surface travel, etc. and estimates of speedrespectively associated therewith). The mode of travel may be estimatedbased on additional location information such as whether the UE wasturned off at an airport, etc. Based on which technologies and bands areto be used in various geographic regions, the search sequence ordersassociated with system acquisition database structures of the UE deviceare sorted or prioritized (i.e., manipulated) accordingly so thatnetwork selection is customized and, consequently, accelerated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary methodology 300 for saving variouspieces of network system, location and timing information when awireless UE device is powered off. The methodology 300 is initiated asthe UE device is about to enter into a power off state (block 302),whereupon location-based information, e.g., cell ID, macrocell ID, WLANID, longitude and latitude, and other geographic information such asairport(s) and the like is saved locally (block 304). Timing-basedinformation, e.g., local time, time zone, etc. is also saved (block306). One skilled in the art will appreciate that the time data may beprovided by an internal clock of the UE device, by means of GPS, or fromthe serving network. As illustrated in block 308, savedlocation/system/timing information may be embodied in a removable modulesuch as SIM, RUIM, USIM, Flash memory, or a storage memory circuitintegrated within the UE device. The system information may comprise thetechnology and frequency band(s) being used at the time of powering off.Although not shown, the UE device may also store the current batterylevel and an indication if the device powered off due to a low batterycondition, preferably so as to avoid manipulating the acquisitionrecords due to false relocation indications. Upon saving the data, theUE device is then powered off (block 310). Thereafter, the process flowterminates (block 312).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of an overall scheme400 for facilitating accelerated network selection when a wireless UEdevice is powered up. The process flow of scheme 400 is initiated as theUE device is determined to be in a power up state (block 402), whereuponthe UE device attempts to acquire the previous system using the statusdata that was saved when it was powered off (block 404). Appropriatelogic provided with the UE device is operable to determine whether thesaved system has been acquired (block 406). In one variation, such adetermination may be made without regard to whether the UE device hasrelocated or not. If the network system can be acquired, the UE deviceproceeds with obtaining service in normal fashion and the process flowterminates (block 412). On the other hand, if the saved system statusdata is not usable for finding a network, the system acquisitiondatabase structure and/or its search sequence order list is sorted orotherwise manipulated based on estimated new location (e.g., re-mappingof pointers, etc.), which in turn may depend on the location where theUE device was powered off and/or the amount of the UE device was in thepower off condition (block 408). As will be described in greater detailbelow, this process may be realized in a number of differentembodiments. Preferably, the database/search order list manipulation isoperable to result in a sequence of acquisition records such that therecords relating to networks that are more likely to be available at thenew location are placed at or near the top of the table, logicallyspeaking. In other words, the manipulation need not necessarily resultin a physically-sorted database structure, since the end result could beeffectuated by means of re-mapping the search order list associatedtherewith. Thereafter, scanning parameters (i.e., frequency data) fromthe “manipulated” acquisition records are utilized by the UE device,preferably in accordance with the rearranged priority order, inacquiring or locating a network (block 410).

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an embodiment of a scheme 500A formanipulating the system acquisition database structure(s) associatedwith a wireless UE device. The process flow of scheme 500A begins withtemporarily clearing the acquisition table and marking the geographicregions of the system table as “UNCONSIDERED”. Preferably, an indicatorsuch as the flag column 218 of the system table 200A (shown in FIG. 2A)may be utilized for this purpose. A determination is made to find anunconsidered geographic region from the system table that is closest tothe location where the UE device was powered off. Any suitable metric ormeasurement may be utilized for computing distances for purposes of thepresent disclosure. For example, a latitude/longitude combination may beassociated with each region in the table and the distance could bedetermined based upon computing distance between the latitude/longitudepairs. Where two or more regions are determined to be at identical orsubstantially the same distance from the power off location, preferablythe region with the greatest assigned weight (either predetermined,pre-assigned, dynamically determined, or otherwise) may be chosen (block504). Thereafter, the scanning parametric data including the networktechnologies, frequency bands, etc. associated with the selected region(obtained from a saved copy of the database) are added to theacquisition table at the next available record location, which starts atthe top of the table initially. In one embodiment, if a band ortechnology has already been added previously, they are not added againin order to avoid duplication of scanning (block 506). The geographicregion that has been analyzed as set forth above is then marked“CONSIDERED”, again appropriately controlling a flag mechanism asalluded to before (block 508). This process of geographic regionanalysis is performed iteratively, as illustrated in blocks 510 and 514,until all the regions of the system table of the UE device are covered.It will be realized by those skilled in the art that no new data tablesneed be created in the foregoing process. Rather, associated pointersetc. may be appropriately manipulated to achieve the same result.Thereafter, the process flow terminates (block 516), resulting in anacquisition table that is populated with ordered acquisition records.

It will be appreciated that the scheme 500A described hereinabove doesnot require an estimate of distance traveled in order to manipulate theacquisition table(s) associated with the UE device since the methodologyinvolves concentrically expanding away from the power off location.Referring now to FIG. 5B, depicted therein is a flowchart of anotherembodiment 500B for manipulating the system acquisition databasestructure(s) associated with a wireless UE device based on relocationestimation. As before, the process flow of embodiment 500B begins withclearing the acquisition table and marking the geographic regions of thesystem table as “UNCONSIDERED” using a suitable flag mechanism. Adetermination is made with respect to the likely distance to which theUE device may have relocated based on the power off time and anestimated mode of travel (block 554). As pointed out previously, variousgeographic location and speed data (GPS locations of airports, airportcodes, estimates of average speeds for different types oftransportation, and the like) as well as time-based information may beused in any suitable computational technique to estimate the likelydistance, D1. A boundary is defined based on the estimated likelydistance. As a further variation, a geographical band may becircumscribed around the boundary at D1. A computation is made to findan unconsidered geographic region from the system table that is closestto the boundary at D1 but within the band defined around it. Again, anysuitable metric or measurement may be utilized for computing distancesfor purposes of the present embodiment. Where two or more regions aredetermined to be at identical or substantially the same distance,preferably the region with the greatest assigned weight (e.g.,predetermined or otherwise) may be chosen (block 556). Thereafter, thescanning parametric data including the network technologies, frequencybands, etc. associated with the selected region are added to theacquisition table at the next available record location, starting at thetop of the table. Again, if a band or technology has already been added,they may not be added again in order to avoid duplication of scanning(block 558). The geographic region that has been analyzed as set forthabove is then marked “CONSIDERED” (block 560). This process ofgeographic region analysis is performed iteratively with shrinkingdistances (i.e., moving toward the power off location), as illustratedin blocks 562 and 564, until all the regions of the system table of theUE device are covered. Thereafter, the process flow terminates (block566), whereupon the UE device may commence scanning based on thefrequency data obtained from the acquisition table that has beenpopulated with ordered acquisition records.

Based upon the foregoing, it will be appreciated that in one exemplaryscenario, schemes 500A and 500B may be selectively chosen depending onwhether the UE device was near an airport at the time of power-off. Forinstance, scheme 500B may be utilized if the power-off was detected nearan airport whereas scheme 500A may be implemented if the UE device wasnot near an airport.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary hypothetical geographic region layout 600illustrative of the teachings of FIG. 5B. A distance of radius R1 iscomputed from a power off location 602 based on estimated mode of traveland the duration of power off. A circular boundary 604 and a band havingan inner limit 606A and an outer limit 606B around the boundary 604 arethen delimited, thereby defining an annular geographic area. Threeregions of a system table, REG-1 608-1, REG-2 608-2, and REG-3 608-3,are illustrated with respect to this annular area, wherein REG-1 608-1is closest to the boundary 604. It is this region that becomes“CONSIDERED” and the scanning data associated therewith are added to theUE device's acquisition table at the available record location(s). Anext distance of radius R2, where R2<R1, is then computed, whereupon anew boundary 610 and associated annular area delimited by inner andouter borders 612A, 612B, respectively, are defined. Three other regionsof the system table, REG-4 608-4, REG-5 608-5, and REG-6 608-6, areillustrated with respect to this annular area, wherein REG-6 608-6 isclosest to the boundary 610. The scanning parametric data relating toREG-6 608-6 are then added to the acquisition table. It should beappreciated that a previously analyzed, but remained unconsidered,geographic region of the system table may be included in the distanceanalysis again, especially if there is some geographical overlap betweentwo successive iterations. Accordingly, REG-3 608-3, for example, mayappear in computations with respect to both R1 as well as R2 in somearrangements.

FIG. 7 depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of a wireless device orUE/ME device 700 operable to accelerate network selection according tothe teachings of the present patent disclosure. It will be recognized bythose skilled in the art upon reference hereto that although anembodiment of UE 102 may comprise an arrangement similar to one shown inFIG. 7, there can be a number of variations and modifications, inhardware, software or firmware, with respect to the various modulesdepicted. Further, a UE device for purposes of the present disclosuremay comprise a mobile equipment (ME) device without a removable storagemodule and/or a mobile device coupled with such a storage module.Accordingly, the arrangement of FIG. 7 should be taken as illustrativerather than limiting with respect to the embodiments of the presentpatent disclosure. A microprocessor 702 providing for the overallcontrol of UE 700 is operably coupled to a communication subsystem 704which includes transmitter/receiver (transceiver) functionality foreffectuating multi-mode scanning and communications over a plurality ofbands. By way of example, a wide area wireless Tx/Rx module 706 and awireless AN Tx/Rx module 708 are illustrated. Although not particularlyshown, each Tx/Rx module may include other associated components such asone or more local oscillator (LO) modules, RF switches, RF bandpassfilters, A/D and D/A converters, processing modules such as digitalsignal processors (DSPs), local memory, etc. As will be apparent tothose skilled in the field of communications, the particular design ofthe communication subsystem 704 may be dependent upon the communicationsnetworks with which the UE device is intended to operate. In oneembodiment, the communication subsystem 704 is operable with both voiceand data communications.

Microprocessor 702 also interfaces with further device subsystems suchas auxiliary input/output (I/O) 718, serial port 720, display 722,keyboard 724, speaker 726, microphone 728, random access memory (RAM)730, a short-range communications subsystem 732, and any other devicesubsystems generally labeled as reference numeral 733. To controlaccess, a removal storage module or RSM (SIM/RUIM/USIM) interface 734 isalso provided in communication with the microprocessor 702. In oneimplementation, RSM interface 734 is operable with an RSM card having anumber of key configurations 744 and other information 746 such asidentification and subscriber-related data as well as one or more systemtables and acquisition tables described in detail hereinabove, as wellas preferred/forbidden SSID/PLMN lists, network weights, filters andother databases where applicable.

Operating system software and other control software may be embodied ina persistent storage module (i.e., non-volatile storage) such as Flashmemory 735. In one implementation, Flash memory 735 may be segregatedinto different areas, e.g., storage area for computer programs 736 aswell as data storage regions such as device state 737, address book 739,other personal information manager (PIM) data 741, and other datastorage areas generally labeled as reference numeral 743. Additionally,appropriate network discovery/scanning selection logic 740 (including,e.g., searching sequence order lists and associated structures) may beprovided as part of the persistent storage for executing the variousnetwork discovery/scanning and accelerated selection procedures setforth in the preceding sections. Additionally or alternatively, anotherlogic module 748 may be provided for facilitating home networkauthentication, location interrogation, etc. Associated therewith is astorage module 738 for storing the SSID/PLMN lists, location-basedselection and/or scanning filters, capability indicators, et cetera.

In view of the teachings set forth herein, the various logic blocks ofwireless UE device 700 should be understood as comprising at least thefollowing: a logic structure for manipulating a system acquisitiondatabase structure and/or its search order list associated with thewireless UE device based at least in part upon where the wireless UEdevice was last powered off and how long the wireless UE device was inpower off condition, the system acquisition database structure havingacquisition records for storing frequency scanning data operable withthe wireless UE device for discovering a network; and a logic structurefor locating a network via scanning by the wireless UE device usingfrequency scanning data obtained from the system acquisition databasestructure that has been manipulated. Additionally, the variousembodiments of computational techniques described hereinabove may beimplemented in suitable software/firmware associated with the UE device700.

It is believed that the operation and construction of the embodiments ofthe present patent application will be apparent from the DetailedDescription set forth above. While the exemplary embodiments shown anddescribed may have been characterized as being preferred, it should bereadily understood that various changes and modifications could be madetherein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure asset forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a wireless user equipment(UE) device for facilitating accelerated network selection, the methodcomprising: storing information on the UE device regarding power-offtime and power-off location as the UE device is about to enter apower-off condition, the power-off location comprising identification ofa current access point; and upon power-up, the UE device performing thefollowing actions: computing an estimated distance that the UE devicehas traveled while in the power-off condition using the storedinformation and a current time, defining a boundary that lies theestimated distance from a location indicated by the power-off location,for a plurality of regions lying within the boundary, sorting orlogically sequencing acquisition records that are associated with theregions in a system acquisition database structure, the sorting orlogically sequencing being based on the regions nearness to theboundary, and locating a network via scanning using scanning dataobtained from the logically sequenced acquisition records.
 2. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein computing the estimated distance isfurther based on an estimated mode of travel and an estimated speedassociated with the mode of travel.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2,wherein the mode of travel is estimated by determining that the wirelessUE device was turned off in an airport.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the scanning data includes frequency band informationthat is compliant with at least one of IEEE 802.11 standard, HiperLanstandard, HiperLan II standard, Wi-Max standard, OpenAir standard, andBluetooth standard.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein thescanning data includes frequency band information that is compliant withat least one of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, anEnhanced Data Rates for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)Evolution (EDGE) network, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP)-compliant network, an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (IDEN),a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) network, a 3GPP2 network, and a TimeDivision Multiple Access (TDMA) network.
 6. The method as recited inclaim 1, wherein the system acquisition database structure is providedas part of a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card, RemovableUser Identity Module (RUIM) card, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card, a compact Flash card, a Secure Digital (SD) card, or a memorycircuit associated with the wireless UE device.
 7. The method as recitedin claim 1, further comprising: saving network system data operable withthe wireless UE device as the UE device is about to enter the power-offcondition; and upon power-up and prior to the computing, defining andsequencing, determining if a network can be acquired using the savednetwork system data.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein theinformation regarding power-off location includes at least one of cellID, microcell ID, WLAN ID.
 9. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising storing one of information regarding battery level and anindicator if the UE device was powered off due to a low-batterycondition.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein if two regionsare the same distance from the boundary, a region having a greaterweight is logically sequenced ahead of a remaining region.
 11. Awireless user equipment (UE) device comprising: a microprocessoroperably coupled to a transceiver and to a memory; instructions, storedin the memory, for storing information on the UE device regardingpower-off time and power-off location as the UE device is about to entera power-off condition, the power-off location comprising identificationof a current access point; and instructions, stored in the memory andoperable upon power-up, for the UE to perform the following actions:computing an estimated distance that the UE device has traveled while inthe power-off condition using the stored information and a current time,defining a boundary that lies the estimated distance from a locationindicated by the power-off location, sorting or logically sequencingacquisition records in a system acquisition database structure that areassociated with regions lying within the boundary, the sorting orlogical sequencing being based on a nearness to the boundary of theregions, and locating a network via scanning using scanning dataobtained from the logically sequenced acquisition records.
 12. Thewireless UE device as recited in claim 11, wherein the instructions forcomputing the estimated distance further comprises estimating a mode oftravel and an estimated speed associated with the mode of travel. 13.The wireless UE device as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructionsfor computing the estimated distance estimates the mode of travel bydetermining that the wireless UE device was turned off in an airport.14. The wireless UE device as recited in claim 11, wherein the scanningdata includes frequency band information that is compliant with at leastone of IEEE 802.11 standard, HiperLan standard, HiperLan II standard,Wi-Max standard, OpenAir standard, and Bluetooth standard.
 15. Thewireless UE device as recited in claim 11, wherein the scanning dataincludes frequency band information that is compliant with at least oneof a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, an Enhanced Data Ratesfor Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Evolution (EDGE)network, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)-compliant network,an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (IDEN), a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) network, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) network, a 3GPP2 network, and a Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) network.
 16. The wireless UE device as recited in claim 11,wherein the system acquisition database structure is provided as part ofa Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card, a Removable UserIdentity Module (RUIM) card, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, acompact Flash card, a Secure Digital (SD) card, or a memory circuitassociated with the wireless UE device.
 17. The wireless UE device asrecited in claim 11, further comprising: instructions for saving networksystem data operable with the wireless UE device as the UE device isabout to enter the power-off condition; and instructions, operable uponpower-up and prior to performing the computing, defining and sequencing,for determining if a network can be acquired using the saved networksystem data.
 18. The wireless UE device as recited in claim 11, whereinthe information regarding power-off location includes at least one ofcell ID, macrocell ID, WLAN ID and longitude and latitude.
 19. Thewireless UE device as recited in claim 11, further comprising storingone of information regarding battery level and an indicator if the UEdevice was powered off due to a low-battery condition.
 20. The wirelessUE device as recited in claim 11, wherein if two regions are the samedistance from the boundary, the instructions for logically sequencingacquisition records logically sequences a region having a greater weightahead of a remaining region.